Sponsor
Jeff Hurd
Representative · R-CO
Representative · R-CO
The bill protects conservation, recreation, and ecological values on specific BLM parcels by banning limestone mining expansion there, while limiting local mining-related economic opportunities and narrowing federal land‑use and revenue options.
Residents of rural communities near the specified BLM parcels keep existing land conservation and continued recreational, scenic, and ecological values because the bill prohibits expansion of limestone mining on those parcels.
Companies and workers that rely on limestone extraction cannot expand operations on these parcels, potentially reducing local jobs and business income in affected communities.
The Bureau of Land Management and Department of the Interior lose authority to process certain sales and contracts for limestone on these lands, reducing federal land‑use flexibility and potential revenue from material sales.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars the Interior Secretary from approving limestone-mining expansions or mineral material sales/contracts on specified BLM lands in Garfield County, Colorado.
Official title: To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from taking any action to expand the Mid-Continent Limestone Quarry located near Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Introduced July 22, 2026 by Jeff Hurd · Last progress July 22, 2026
Prohibits the Department of the Interior from processing or approving any applications to expand limestone mining operations, and from approving mineral material sales contracts or applications, on specified Bureau of Land Management (BLM) parcels in Garfield County, Colorado. The restriction covers expansions of operations on mining or mill site claims under the general mining laws and sales/contracts under the Materials Act of 1947 and the Surface Resources Act of 1955 for the named public-land sections. The measure applies narrowly to identified public-land sections near Glenwood Hot Springs and does not create new spending, new authorization programs, or broader changes to federal land management law outside those parcels.